S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster fires one county’s entire election board

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:46 AM PT — Friday, February 15, 2019

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster delivers the State of the State address at the Statehouse, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

South Carolina’s Republican Governor Henry McMaster has had enough with one county’s voter registration and election board. He issued an executive order on Thursday, kicking three members as well as their acting chairwoman out of office.

One member serving on the board was reportedly supposed to be out more than two years ago, but a replacement was never picked by a legislative delegation when her term expired. A fourth seat is already empty, because the former chair’s term came to an end.

Back in November the board was accused of not counting 1,000 midterm votes, or one-percent of all the votes in the county, which includes the state capital of Columbia. Part of the problem was old voting machines breaking down, and the board was accused of not following set procedures for that type of election day failure.

The final straw, however, appeared to be Wednesday’s meeting, which got heated. A state senator called one board member incompetent. The same state senator also accused a different board member of breaking the law by not finishing her election training.

Governor McMaster said new leadership is needed, so the county’s election process can regain the trust of voters.

South Carolina is not the only state with election problems. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspended the elections supervisor in Palm Beach County for not completing the midterm ballot count on time. Additionally, Broward County’s elections supervisor resigned over voter fraud allegations.

Meanwhile in North Carolina, the state board of elections has all new members. They are holding a hearing on Monday about the Ninth Congressional District’s voter fraud scandal.